The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) has announced plans to launch a directorate to combat cyberattacks and expand the West African country’s ability to detect and shut down online criminal activity.
The chief of defence staff of the Ghanaian army, Seth Amoama, said that security in cyberspace has become as vital to national defence as security on land, sea, air and space.
“We have a responsibility to protect our data, database, network, communications infrastructure and other assets of the GAF,” the Ghanaian Times quoted Amoama saying, adding that improving cyber awareness among security professionals is a top priority.
“As we take steps to protect our critical information infrastructure, we want to assure all that efforts are being made for members of the GAF to understand the cyber threats vulnerabilities, and their impact on mission readiness,” he added.
Ghana ranks among the top countries in Africa for cybersecurity. It is one of only 14 countries to sign the Africa Union Convention on Cyber Security and Personal Data Protection.
The International Telecommunication Union’s Global Cybersecurity Index ranks Ghana third behind Mauritius and Tanzania in its capacity to protect internet users’ data and thwart security breaches. In 2017, Ghana ranked 11th among African countries on the list.
The Bank of Ghana estimates that online fraud cost Ghanaians more than $4mn in direct financial losses in the first half of 2023. In 2021, cybercrime cost Ghanaians $9.4mn, according to the central bank’s report.
Source: Daily Mail GH